Over You
by Kittyclaw
Summary: Oneshot, Song fic, YxO. When Yumi has nothing, it's someone even she wouldn't have expected who brings her back again.


**I dedicate this to Railen for finally taking a break and giving me some writing time, SnowPrincessMossy and Kiwi.McHearts cause there randomness inspires mine, and RenaYumi because she is mah Yumi and I hope I'm the Odd :)**

**This pairing has been nawing on my mind since back when I wrote it's chapter for my pairing's story. So I decided "Hey, let's write a little oneshot for it!" Well, that 'little oneshot' kind of got away from me. Anyway, the song is 'Over You' by Daughtry, and you may find I took out lyrics here and there. Trust me, if I didn't this story would have never ended. But anyway, enough of me, on to the story! As always, let me know what you think!**

"Yumi, wait up a second."

"Yes Ulrich?" Yumi said, turning to look curiously at the brunet. Ulrich blushed slightly and looked down, stuffing his hands in his pockets as Odd gave him a pat on the back. Ulrich glared at the blonde, who just grinned back, then skipped after Jeremy and Aelita, the latter giving Yumi a knowing wink as she walked with Jeremy and Odd out of the factory.

"Yumi, I-" Ulrich paused, taking a deep breath and then looking up at Yumi. "Now that Xana's defeated, there's something I need to tell you."

"Oh?" Yumi said, lightly crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow at Ulrich. The boy nodded, and visibly gulped.

"Well, I…you…," Ulrich sighed, looking at the ground again.

"Yes Ulrich?" Yumi coaxed, taking a step forward. Ulrich shuffled his feet slightly, then cleared his throat.

"Will you…" Ulrich sighed again, looking up at locking eyes with Yumi, his gaze determined. "Will you go with me to the dance this Friday?"

Not quite what Yumi was expecting, or hoping for, but she figured she could live with it.

"Sure."

_Now that it's all said and done,  
I can't believe you were the one  
To build me up and tear me down,  
Like an old abandoned house._

"Are you sure about this?" Yumi whispered, leaning against the wall at the hallway's opening, watching the man at the door through teary eyes.

"Yes," Ulrich answered quietly. He looked up at Yumi sadly through their dark and gloomy entrance way. He then looked down at the suitcase sitting at his feet. "Well, Sissi is waiting with the car," Ulrich said.

"Alright," Yumi said, her voice almost cracking over the word. "So I guess this is it."

"Yeah," Ulrich said, not looking her way. "Well, goodbye Yumi."

Yumi took a breath, the question that she had been wanting to ask for quite a while suddenly sliding to the forefront of her mind. It rested on the tip of her tongue like a bad taste that needed to be spit out. But as badly as she wanted it out, Yumi held back.

"You don't want to keep Sissi waiting," she said, crossing her arms tightly over her chest, looking intently at the ground.

"Yumi, I-"

"Goodbye Ulrich."

She couldn't see it, but she could imagine the slightly hurt, mostly offended look that Ulrich was probably wearing. The brunet confirmed her thoughts when he picked up his bag and grabbed the handle of his suitcase without another word. The bag's wheels rattled against the floor and over the doorframe, hitting the wooden front porch beyond. It was just as Ulrich was reaching the porch steps that Yumi realized she had to know.

"Ulrich!" she shouted, pushing herself away from the wall and running out onto the porch, grabbing the sleeve of the boy's coat.

"Yumi?" Ulrich said, turning to look at the girl. "Yumi, I really need to get going." Ulrich sounded almost apologetic as he said this, gently pulling Yumi's hand off his coat. Yumi nodded, glancing out over the yard, at the end of which was parked Sissi's little red sports car. The girl in question was leaning on the open driver's side door, and she glared when she noticed Yumi watching, a hateful smirk on her face.

"Ulrich just, before you go," Yumi said, her hands dropping to her sides. "Just please tell me why."

"Yumi…" Ulrich said softly, a sorrowful look on his face. "Please don't do this to me-"

"No Ulrich, don't do this to me!" Yumi said, her voice rising. Noticing Sissi shifting, Yumi lowered her voice again. "Ulrich, you're leaving me, the girl you've loved since school, for Sissi, the girl you've hated even longer. I deserve to know why you think you can just do this to me."

"You know, this really isn't the time-"

"This is the perfect time," Yumi spat back. "Tell me. Why are you doing this? Why…why are you breaking my heart?"

Looking down at the ground, Ulrich released his bags, turning to face Yumi. He reached up, gently taking her arms and looking her in the eyes.

"Yumi, I just…I don't know how to put this," he said, sighing heavily. "I guess after so long, it's like I'm over you."

Eyes going wide, Yumi pulled away from Ulrich, backing into the doorway.

"Go," she whispered.

"No, Yumi, I didn't mean it like that," Ulrich said, stepping forward, but Yumi just pulled back further.

"Just go!"

Eyes pleading, but at a loss for what else to do, Ulrich turned and picked up his things, walking slowly down the porch stairs. Once that the bottom he stopped, although he didn't turn around.

"I love you Yumi," he whispered. "I don't know why I'm doing this. I just…"

"Ulrich, just go," Yumi said, her voice cracking as tears spilled down her cheeks. "Please just go."

For a moment Yumi thought Ulrich might turn around, walk back up the stairs and try to make this right.

But he didn't. He did like she told him, continued walking forward, heading for Sissi, who walked up to meet him, taking one of his bags and speaking quietly to him, sparing a glare for Yumi before piling Ulrich and his things into her car and climbing in herself. Then with a revving engine and a squeal of tires she was off.

Yumi watched the car until it vanished around the distant corner. And then slowly, her hand on the door frame for support, she slid down to the ground, letting her tears pour out, accompanied by long held back sobs.

_What you said when you left  
Just left me cold and out of breath.  
I fell too far, was in way too deep.  
Guess I let you get the best of me._

The house seemed a lot emptier with only one person in it. Yumi had told him this, but Odd was still surprised by just how empty it felt as he walked in through Yumi's front door, dumping his bags right there at his feet as the owner of the house herself appeared at the end of the hall.

"Odd!" she shouted happily, hurrying forward and wrapping her arms around the blonde's neck in a tight hug. "How have you been? I'm so glad you're here! Oh, you must be hungry from your trip. Are those your bags?"

"Whoa, whoa, Yumi," Odd said as the girl released him, holding up his hands to stem her verbal spill. "Let a guy get in the door first, huh?"

"Sorry," Yumi said with a grin, reaching down and grabbing one of Odd's bags. "Come on, I'll show you to your room." Odd quickly grabbed up the rest of his bags as Yumi made her way down the hall, leading the way into the living room, and the stairs beyond that. Hurrying up those, Yumi walked down the short hall to the first, and only, door on the right.

"Here we are," Yumi said with a smile, pushing the door open and leading the way in. Odd followed to find himself in a nicely furnished bedroom; a bed against the opposite wall, two end tables either side, floor length curtains on the window to the left, and a dresser just to the right. All of it was decorated in a matching scheme of dark purples, oranges, and greens.

"What do you think?" Yumi asked, dumping Odd's bag onto the bed, the bright purple and yellow thing clashing terribly with the bed spread.

"Very nice Yumes," Odd said, dumping his remaining bags with the first. "You're quite the decorator."

"Why thank you Odd," Yumi said, giving the blonde a smile. Odd returned it.

"You know, I never did thank you for agreeing to let me stay with you," Odd said. "It's really nice of you to put me up like this Yumi."

"Nonsense," Yumi said, waving her hand dismissively. "I would never deny a friend a bed. Now you get unpacked, I'll go finish dinner."

"Alright Yumes," Odd said, the girl giving him a wink as she walked towards the door. Odd watched her go, calling her name just as she reached the doorway.

"Hey, Yumi?"

"Yeah Odd?" Yumi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Thank you. Really." Yumi smiled softly, leaning one hand against the doorframe.

"Get unpacked Odd. I'll see you in twenty minutes."

Odd nodded, and then watched Yumi disappear around the corner, listening to the thuds of her footfalls on the stairs. Once the sounds of Yumi tinkering in the kitchen reached Odd the blonde turned to his bags and opened the first one, pulling out at armful of the clothes that had been crammed in there.

Peering around his cargo, Odd made it over to the dresser, using his foot to pull open the bottom drawer, into which he unceremoniously dropped his pile of clothing. Once he had it spread out enough to get the draw shut, Odd went back for more.

The next three trips were rather uneventful, Odd succeeding in almost emptying his bags as he crammed his many clothes into the first four of the dresser's drawers. It was when he we went to fill the top drawer that Odd found a problem. When he reached the dresser, Odd simply set his load on top of the dresser to free his hands, and the then pulled the top drawer open. The problem came when he found that, unlike the others, this drawer was already full. But not with clothes.

Crammed into this drawer were piles of photos; in frames, piled in small boxes, crammed in envelopes. So many pictures filled the drawer that Odd was surprised that pulling the drawer out didn't bring the thing toppling completely to the floor under the weight of it all.

"Whoa Yumi, packrat much?" Odd muttered, clothes now ignored as he sifted through the heaps of pictures. In his scrounging Odd found one that looked rather interesting. A white envelope filled almost to bursting with pictures, the word 'Kadic' written across the front. Curious, Odd backed up until he hit the edge of the bed, sinking down onto the mattress and flipping the envelope over. As he did, he noticed the time on his watch.

It was dinner time.

_You took a hammer to these walls,  
Dragged the memories down the hall,  
Packed your bags and walked away.  
There was nothing I could say._

With a grin, Odd swiveled around the bottom rail of the stairs, landing in Yumi's living room with a soft thud and then marching his way towards the kitchen. As he got closer he opened his mouth to shout out to his friend but then paused as a sound reached his ears. It sounded like someone was…crying?

"Yumi?" Odd called out, finishing the short walk to the kitchen. "Yumi, are you okay in there?"

"Yeah, I'm fine!" Yumi called, although the tone of her voice said otherwise. "Just go wait for me in the dining room, I'll be right there."

Instead of doing what he was told, Odd just continued right for the kitchen. Peering in through the door, he soon caught sight of Yumi.

The dark haired girl was standing in front of her sink, hands braced against the counter edge as she stared out of the window. She didn't seem to really be focused on anything outside however, the look in her eyes glassy and distant. At first Odd just assumed Yumi was preoccupied with something and that he should leave her be, but then he noticed something he hadn't at first.

Rolling seemingly unnoticed down the girl's cheek was a single fat tear.

Odd watched the droplet as it slid down to Yumi's chin, and then after a moment dropped free and fell to hit the counter below. It was as another tear moved to join the first that Odd decided he couldn't stay back anymore.

"Yumi," he said softly, stepping forward into the kitchen. Not expecting Odd to be standing there, Yumi gave a start, spinning around and staring wide eyed at her friend.

"Odd!" she shouted, quickly scrubbing at her face with her hand. "I, I didn't know you were standing there! Come on, let's get the food out to the table-"

"Yumi," Odd said, and Yumi found herself wondering how he's gotten in front of her so fast. "Tell me what's wrong?"

"It's nothing," Yumi said dismissively, waving the blonde off. "Just thinking is all."

The look on Odd's face was enough for Yumi to know he didn't buy her excuse at all.

"Look Odd," Yumi said, resting her hand on the boy's shoulder. "It really is nothing. I'm fine." Odd looked at Yumi for a moment, then down to the ground. He knew what he wanted to say to the girl, he just wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do. This might just be the wrong time to being something like this up.

Then again, no one had ever accused Odd of being tactful.

With a sigh Odd reached out his hand and grabbed Yumi's, who, in his moment of thought, had started to go get things off the oven. "Yumi, is this about Ulrich?"

Odd knew he was right when Yumi suddenly stiffened, her back going rigid and her free fist clenching.

"Odd?" she asked softly. "What did Ulrich tell you?

"Tell me?" Odd asked curiously.

"About what happened," Yumi said quietly, turning to look at Odd. "About why he and I…broke up."

He wasn't sure why, but Odd was suddenly sorely tempted to crack a joke, anything to break the now terse atmosphere of the kitchen. But the look in Yumi's eyes told Odd quite clearly that any joking now would not be appreciated.

"He told me that…that things were starting to feel tense between you two," Odd said cautiously, watching Yumi carefully for her reaction. "He said that he thought you two needed space away from each other."

Yumi neither grew angry, nor burst into tears; the two outcomes Odd had been most worried about. Instead she just sighed, the sound heavy with weariness. Yumi took a few steps away from Odd, until she was backed against the counter, and then slid slowly to the floor.

"Odd," she said, patting the tile next to her. "Sit with me?" With a nod, Odd slowly walked over, joining Yumi on the kitchen floor. For a few minutes they sat together in silence, and it was just as Odd was about to say something, if only to make noise, that Yumi spoke.

"Is that really what he thought?" she asked quietly. "That we needed space? That things were tense?"

"Yeah," Odd whispered, looking down at his lap.

"Why..." Yumi started to say, but stopped as her voice cracked. After taking a deep breath she started again. "Why didn't he talk to me about this?" Odd shrugged, his shoulder brushing up against Yumi's.

"You know how he is," he said, "Ulrich has trouble with relationships. He doesn't know how to talk about his feelings, and he has a lot of trouble trusting people. Heck, I'm his best friend and I don't think he tells me everything."

"But I…I thought…" Yumi sighed, letting her head fall back against the counter with a dull thud. "I thought he could at least trust me. We were such close friends, you know?" There was a thoughtful pause, and then the blonde spoke up.

"Maybe that was the problem," Odd said, a look or realization in his eyes. "You were such close friends."

"What? Odd, how would that be a problem in a relationship? Isn't that what a relationship needs to be strong?"

"Well, you need to be friends, yes," Odd said, twisting around to look at Yumi. "But if you're best friends before you start dating, it just doesn't work out. Like, you know me and Sam?"

"Yes," Yumi said, looking at Odd in confusion.

"Well, before we dated, we were best friends. I mean the very best," Odd said. "But when we started dating, things got…awkward. Suddenly things we did together normally involved holding hands and kissing. And cuddling," Odd added, pulling a face. "But me and Sam, we were close. Like siblings, you know? So it felt…yeah."

"I know what you mean," Yumi said, smiling at Odd, who was now pulling faces at the tile as he tried to clear his mind of those disturbing thoughts. "We're so close as friends that suddenly we felt like we need to be really close as a couple. We never really got that bonding time."

"Exactly," Odd said with a grin. "So don't blame yourself. You just ended up in the unfortunate position of dating your romantically awkward best friend."

Without even meaning to Yumi burst into laughter, Odd's statement suddenly seeming like the first thing she had truly laughed at in some time. Once her laughs died down into giggles Yumi sighed, dropping her head down on Odd's shoulder.

"Thank you Odd," she said, reaching up and giving his hand a squeeze. "I really needed that."

"No problem," Odd said, smiling and returning the squeeze. He then sat; letting Yumi lean against him as whatever food was sitting on the stove grew cold. The pair sat together like this for quite some time and honestly, Yumi was content to stay that way.

Odd on the other hand was beginning to get a little antsy, and in need of a change of scenery. And he knew just what would accomplish that for him.

"Hey Yumes," he said quietly.

"Hmm?" Yumi asked, letting out a deep, contented breath.

"What are all those pictures in my new dresser."

_And when you slammed the front door shut,  
A lot of others opened up,  
So did my eyes so I could see_  
_That you never were the best for me._

"Oh my gosh, do you remember that?"

"How could I forget? Do you remember Jeremy's face?"

"Or Aelita's?"

"Wow, can't believe you still have that picture," Odd said, unable to wipe the grin off his face. He was sitting on the floor of Yumi's guest room, leaning against the end of the bed with Yumi beside him, the pair surrounded in piles of photos and a few half eaten boxes of take out, which Odd had insisted on buying for Yumi after the dinner she had made went cold.

"I didn't even remember I had a lot of these pictures," Yumi said, also smiling as she reached over and grabbed a random photo box, this one small and red and covered in glitter. "I wonder what's in this one," she said, pulling the box open. When she did she gasped, a grin splitting her face.

"What?" Odd said, looking worried. "I'm not naked in those ones too, am I?" Yumi laughed, swatting at the blonde.

"No Odd," Yumi said, pulling out a stack of pictures. "These are from that dance at Kadic, you remember?"

"Which one?" Odd asked, "They had one of those every year."

"Twelfth grade, well, your eleventh grade year."

"Oh, that one. The masquerade one," Odd said, nodding as the memories of that day trickled back to him. As they did Yumi pulled out one of the photos, and then promptly burst out laughing.

"Wow Odd," she said around giggles.

"What?" Odd asked, snatching at the photo, which Yumi moved out of his reach with a laugh. "Yumes, give it!" Odd shouted, lunging at the girl. With a shriek and more laughter Yumi dodged the blonde's attack, toppling over onto her side, with Odd following after.

Landing on top of Yumi, Odd used his position to wrestle the picture away from his friend. Looking at it, Odd about burst out crying.

It was a picture taken of him when he had been dancing, and not slow dancing, like he would have hoped. The picture showed his seventeen year old self crouched down, one leg bent under him and the other kicked out to the side; with one hand on his hip and the other pointing up in the air in some crazy parody of a disco move. His head was back and mouth open, probably with a happy shout. In the background was a crowd of students, all clapping and cheering, along with a slightly embarrassed looking Aelita.

"How did you even get this?" Odd asked, raising an eyebrow and looking at Yumi, who grinned.

"I have my ways."

Sticking out his tongue, Odd sat upright, blushing slightly as he got off of Yumi and then handing the picture back to the girl as she got up as well. Noticing his blush Yumi laughed, nudging Odd playfully with her shoulder as she tucked the photo back into the box. As she did a thoughtful look crossed her face, and she turned to Odd.

"Hey Odd," she said, putting the lid back on the box and setting it aside. "Whatever happened between you and Aelita?" Odd's expression, which had been playful, now became more serious.

"We had a, well, it wasn't really a falling out," Odd said, leaning back against the bed, drawing up his knees and resting his arms across them. Yumi leaned back, mirroring his position.

"So what did happen?"  
"You remember when Jeremy switched to that Belgian school for a year?" Odd asked, turning his head to look at Yumi. The girl nodded, also turning so that her cheek rested against the side of the bed, her dark eyes meeting Odd's blues.

"Well, that was when Aelita and I started seeing each other. And it got…pretty serious." Odd shut his eyes, giving a heavy sigh before opening them again. "I really thought that when Jeremy got back Aelita would break up with him, stay with me, you know? But that wasn't what happened."

"She broke up with you?" Yumi said, eyebrows shooting up.

"Not quite," Odd answered, smirking and giving a humorless laugh. "She didn't break it off with either of us. She stayed with Jeremy, doing all their boyfriend girlfriend stuff, and then would come to me and…well, we basically did all of the…intimate stuff. She said that she felt more comfortable doing it with me," Odd said, looking at his knees. "But she preferred to do things like dating and all that cuddly stuff with Jeremy.

"Wow," Yumi breathed, mouth hanging open slightly.

"Yeah, I know," Odd said, giving his head a faint shake. "I don't know why, but I let her keep doing it. After fights and things with Jeremy she would tell me about how she planned to break up with him. I always believed it. Dumb huh?"

"No, not at all," Yumi said. She understood all too well how easy it was to trust and believe the one you loved, no matter what. "So, what happened?"

"When we moved on the college we ended up at different schools. Jeremy was doing his computer thing you know, I did art, and Aelita continued the DJ thing. It started getting harder to play our little game. Eventually Jeremy found out Aelita was cheating in him," Odd paused, another sigh on his lips. "I partly thought Aelita would tell him about us, but she didn't. From what Jeremy said when he called me, Aelita had said she had been with someone else entirely. If there really was a third guy or not, I never found out.

"I'm sure you can figure out what happened next. Jeremy and Aelita broke it off. A few nights later Aelita showed up at my door, and I finally did what I should have done years ago. I told her to leave, and she did."

"Wow Odd," Yumi said, looking at Odd with an indescribable look, something mixed with sorrow, surprise and almost but-not-quite pity. "I never would have imagined Aelita would do something like that."

"I think…I think she just got overwhelmed, and confused," Odd said, looking thoughtfully at Yumi. "But now that both Jeremy and I are out of the picture, I think she'll finally be able to work past this and have a normal relationship."

"You seem pretty knowing about all this relationship stuff," Yumi said, leaning against Odd.

"When you date all of the girls in your high school grade and some of the girls who aren't, you learn a thing or two about girls and relationships."

With a laugh Yumi reached up and smacked Odd in the chest, as the blonde tossed an arm around her shoulders. "Maybe I should have just married you," she said, shaking her head and resting it on his shoulder.

"Why Yumi, is that a proposal?" Odd asked jokingly, for which Yumi just smacked him in the chest again.

_Well, I never saw it coming.  
I should've started running_  
_A long, long time ago_.

Ulrich sighed, head resting on his arm, one hand cradling a now warm beer. All around him people were chattering, laughing, shouting in the smoky, cigarette and beer scented pub in which the young man had tucked himself away. Somewhere a radio was playing a rock song, and over the bar a TV broadcasted the most recent soccer game. Of course, it could hardly be heard over the crowd gathered watching it.

It had been a few hours since he had arrived at the pub, and Ulrich could see the bartender giving him the occasional glance, obviously worried that his somber patron might not be planning to go home tonight. It wouldn't be the first time some poor sap had tried to bunk at the bar after being kicked out of his house.

But Ulrich was planning on spending the night. His apartment was still open for him to return to, after all, Sissi hadn't kicked him out. She'd just packed up and left, off to go stay at her father's place. Though not an unfamiliar scene, Ulrich worried that this time Sissi's threats to not come back were going to be carried out proper.

Their fight had been just another of the many stupid ones they'd had over the months that they'd been together. Ulrich couldn't even remember how it had started, but it had followed the usual pattern of getting ugly fast. But this one had ended differently than the ones the ones they'd had before.

Ulrich, in his anger, had done something he had never done before. He shoved Sissi. It wasn't very hard, and he'd been so shocked by what he'd done that he didn't even respond to Sissi's angry shouts. That was quickly fixed when Sissi knocked him out of his shock- literally. Ulrich had a big black bruise across his jaw now, compliments of Sissi's stronger than expected fist.

After punching her boyfriend, Sissi had gathered up everything of hers within reach and marched out to her car, speeding off for daddy's house. And that was why Ulrich was now camped out at the pub. He was giving Sissi the time she would need to empty her things out of the apartment. Rubbing absently at his bruised chin, Ulrich couldn't help but wonder if he would ever be able to have a relationship that he didn't screw into the ground.

"Hello Ulrich!"

The excited greeting startled Ulrich, who jumped so badly that some of his drink splashed onto the table. Quickly grabbing some napkins, Ulrich looked up to find himself facing a familiar green eyed, pink haired woman across the table.

"Aelita!" he said happily, absently mopping up the spilt beer. "Hi, how are you? What are you doing here?"

"I'm good," Aelita said with a sheepish smile, helping Ulrich clean up. "I was just in town visiting Yumi, thought I'd stop by for a drink. I didn't think I'd find you here." Ulrich winced at the mention of Yumi.

"So, I guess you heard about me and her?" Aelita nodded, setting her now damp napkins aside.

"I heard you were with Sissi now. Is she here?"

"Er, no," Ulrich said, reaching up and rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "We sort of…I think we've pretty much broken up."

"Pretty much?" Aelita asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's a long story," Ulrich said, sighing. Aelita nodded to the still mostly full beer in Ulrich's hand, raising her own bottle of something that Ulrich had failed to notice.

"I have some time on my hands."

_And I never thought I'd doubt you,  
I'm better off without you  
More than you, more than you know._

"And then I need to go get something for dinner," Yumi said, telling Odd her plans for the day as they walked along the street, arms linked.

"Oh?" Odd said, glancing down at her, "What are you going to get?"

"I dunno," Yumi said playfully, "Maybe some…carrots?"

"Carrots?" Odd asked, crossing the icy street with Yumi. "Yuck."

"No?" Yumi said, looking up at Odd, who shook his head vehemently. "Well then, what about…meatloaf?"

"Ugh," Odd said, pulling a face.

"Fine, fine," Yumi said, playfully batting at Odd. "What about…mashed potatoes?"

"Yumi," Odd declared, "You are a woman after my own heart!" Yumi gasped, turning to mock glare at Odd.

"I thought your heart was already mine Mr. Della Robbia!"

"It is, it is!" Odd said, holding up his free hand. "But, it could be more yours."

"What do you mean?" Yumi asked, cocking an eyebrow at the blonde.

"Well, I…" Odd trailed off, coming to a stop. He then released Yumi's arm, turning so that he stood in front of her. Taking her hands, he looked her in the eye.

"Yumi, I love you," he said, expression serious.

"And I love you Odd," Yumi said, giving Odd a worried look. "Is something wrong?"

"No, no," Odd said, shaking his head. "I'm not very good at this, am I?"

"Good at what?"

"At asking you to change your name."

"Odd," Yumi said, narrowing her eyes at the blonde. "What are you talking about?"

"Yumi, would you do me the honor," Odd said, pulling his hands away and taking something from his pocket, slowly lowering himself to one knee. "Of becoming Mrs. Yumi Della Robbia?"

"Oh my…" Yumi gasped, hands flying to her mouth.

"Yumi, would you marry me?"

Yumi couldn't believe the swirl of thoughts that assaulted her, racking around her brain and through her heart and jumping around so fast she couldn't make heads or tails of any of them. Staring down happily at Odd, all Yumi could think for sure was that she was, at this moment, the luckiest woman alive. A second later and she also realized she had yet to answer a now worried looking Odd.

"Yes Odd," Yumi said, grinning down at the blonde. "Yes! Yes, I'll marry you!" Odd broke out in a huge grin as Yumi tossed herself at him, arms locking around his neck and hugging tight.

"I love you Yumi, so much," Odd whispered into Yumi's ear.

"You too Odd," Yumi whispered, looking across the street as tears of joy filled her eyes. But they suddenly felt much less joyless when Yumi caught sight of the last thing she was expecting to see. Across the street, sitting on the hood of a car, were none other than Aelita and Ulrich. Aelita was smiling, her head on Ulrich's shoulder, but the brunet's expression was unreadable.

Watching him, Yumi could only imagine what he must be thinking, watching his ex take a proposal from his most trusted friend. What if he got angry? What if he came over and…he was saying something.

_Go._

At first Yumi thought he meant to leave, to walk away; but when he smiled, resting his head on Aelita's. Yumi couldn't believe the wave of joy that hit her as the two smiled happily at she and Odd, and she turned to bury her head in Odd's shoulder.

"I love you Odd."

_I'm slowly getting closure.  
I guess it's really over.  
I'm finally getting better.  
_

Sitting on the hood of his car in his apartment parking lot, watching the people walking along the park path across the street; Ulrich nursed a cup of coffee. Brown eyes followed a woman in a heavy red coat with six little dogs, shaking his head slightly at the crazy number of little fluffy floor dusters the woman had out for a walk. Once around the corner, Ulrich's eyes shifted to find a new target.

Spotting a girl walking, no, more like strutting down the street Ulrich raised an eyebrow. Someone was feeling rather full of themselves today.

The girl was in tight jeans and a huge poofy pink jacket, something that had to be just for looks; no way someone would actually wear that because it was comfortable. Just like the crazy heels on the boots the girl was wearing, or her huge sunglasses. Actually, looking a litter closer, Ulrich recognized that kind of crazy get up. He knew someone who thought it was fun to dress like that…

"Wow Sissi," Ulrich muttered, watching the girl continue to strut down the sidewalk. She marched along as if she had a serious purpose to her walk, and it was soon revealed exactly what it was she marched up to a handsome looking man on the corner, spun him towards her, and pulled him into a 

deep kiss. Pulling a face, Ulrich couldn't help but think that Sissi and her male companion were getting so into their make-out that they might as well have just whipped off their clothes and had sex right there on the sidewalk, snow or no snow.

Eventually the pair broke apart, linking hands and walking off the way Sissi had come. Even from across the street Ulrich could see Sissi talking the guy's ear off, which caused the brunet to sigh. "Good luck dude," he said quietly, taking a drink of his coffee and looking around for someone else to watch. He soon spotted a pair that might be interesting.

One was a tall woman with long black hair that came to a rest at the small if her back, dressed in a black jacket and leaning on the arm of her companion, a blonde who's hair was pulled back in a short pony tail, bangs framing his face and contrasting with his dark purple jacket. Wait, purple? Doing a double take, Ulrich's jaw dropped open.

The pair walking along the sidewalk were none other than Yumi Ishiyama and Odd Della Robbia, arm in arm and talking happily among themselves.

"Would you look at that," a voice said over Ulrich's shoulder, and the man grinned, reaching an arm around Aelita's waist and tugging her closer. With a giggle the pink haired girl slid onto the hood next to Ulrich, snuggling up close in the cold.

"So, you surprised?" Ulrich asked, watching the pair as they slowly walked and talked.

"Not really," Aelita said after a moment's thought. "I mean, if you and I found each other, why not them too?"

Ulrich's response was to pull Aelita closer, just as across the street Odd and Yumi came to a stop, Odd turning to stand in front of Yumi, holding her hands as he spoke to her.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Ulrich asked, rubbing circles idly on Aelita's hip.

"I don't kn- Oh my, look!"

Ulrich didn't need telling, his eyes going wide as he watched Odd suddenly drop to one knee, holding something out to Yumi as her hands flew to her mouth. For a moment the pair didn't move, and Ulrich could hear Aelita quietly cheering Yumi on. After what seemed like forever Yumi dropped to her knees, wrapping her arms around Odd's neck as the faint echoes of her 'yes' reached the pair.

"Isn't that so sweet," Aelita said quietly, resting her head on Ulrich's shoulder.

"Yeah," Ulrich said, but before he could say more he realized something. Yumi had turned her head and spotted him. Even from across the street he could see the surprised and questioning look, which was almost worried. Realizing how awkward Yumi must be feeling with her ex watching as she excepted a proposal from his best friend, who's ex was also watching.

But Ulrich found he didn't feel angry, or jealous, not sad or any of the feeling he would have expected. He felt more…content. This felt right, and he wanted to make sure Yumi knew. Looking Yumi in the eye, Ulrich mouthed a single word.

"Go."

He wasn't sure if Yumi knew what he had said, but when he smiled at her and rested his cheek on the top of Aelita's head Yumi grinned, turning and burying her face in Odd's shoulder.

"That's very sweet," Ulrich whispered to Aelita, pulling her even closer as she snuggled close. "And perfect."

_And now I'm picking up the pieces.  
I'm spending all of these years  
Putting my heart back together.  
_

Yumi lay in bed, propped up on her arm as she looked down at the man asleep beside her. His blonde hair was spread out across the pillow and his bare chest was uncovered by the sheets, slowly rising and falling with the deep, even breaths of sleep.

"Odd, you sleep like a log," Yumi whispered, leaning forward and giving the man a kiss on the forehead. Odd responded with a moan, eyes flying open and spotting Yumi over him. With a grin and without missing a beat he reached up and grabbed Yumi, causing her laugh as he pulled her in for a kiss.

"Yumi, you are amazing," he whispered, holding her close.

"Odd," Yumi whispered, snuggling close. "You're amazing too."

_Well I'm putting my heart back together,  
'Cause I got over you.  
_

Nuzzling Yumi, Odd smiled.

"Amazing enough for-"

"Odd!" Yumi said, swatting at the blonde.

"For a kiss," Odd said, making a face. After some thought Yumi nodded, leaning forwards and pressing her lips against Odd's.

"Odd?" she whispered against the blonde's lips, getting a 'hmm' in response.

"Thank you."

_The day I thought I'd never get through,_

_I got over you._


End file.
